Rational Security 2.0: The 'Spicy Tyler' Edition
Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by Lawfare managing editor Tyler McBrien to hash through the week's big national security news, including:
- “Bad Vlad’s Sad Grab Has Leningrad a Tad Mad.” Russian President Vladimir Putin seems intent on escalating the conflict in Ukraine, as he’s mobilized thousands of civilian conscripts and is on the verge of incorporating separatist parts of the country into Russia following a sham referendum. But will the Russian people stand for these new actions? And what will they mean for the future of the conflict?
- “What’s Farsi for Riotgrrrl?” Young Iranians have taken to the streets for women’s rights following the apparent killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by religious police for failing to adequately cover her hair. Could this be a real threat to the Iranian regime? And what will it mean for hard-line President Raisi and the ailing Ayatollah Khameini?
- “Cannon as Anticanon.” Everyone’s favorite federal district court judge Aileen Cannon has had the part of her order requiring that a special master review even classified records seized from former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate slapped down by the 11th Circuit. Where is the case—and the broader investigation—likely to go from here?
For object lessons, Alan recommended the long awaited mainstream press treatment of the Hunter Biden laptop story (over Quinta's reservations). Quinta memorialized "Wolf Hall" author Hilary Mantel, who recently passed away. Scott celebrated the Renaissance of fantasy television by giving his stamp of the approval to the debut season of Rings of Power. And Tyler endorsed both the solo movie date and the documentary Riotsville, USA that he recently took in.
Jen Patja is the editor and producer of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.
Alan Z. Rozenshtein is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, Research Director and Senior Editor at Lawfare, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he served as an Attorney Advisor with the Office of Law and Policy in the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.
Quinta Jurecic is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a senior editor at Lawfare. She previously served as Lawfare's managing editor and as an editorial writer for the Washington Post.
Scott R. Anderson is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Tyler McBrien is the managing editor of Lawfare. He previously worked as an editor with the Council on Foreign Relations and a Princeton in Africa Fellow with Equal Education in South Africa, and holds an MA in international relations from the University of Chicago.
